Improvement in gas-regulators



J. EDSON GAS REGULATOR.

Patente-d May 6, 18.62.

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UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE.

Aeon Epson, or hoeren', MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN -GAS-maeuLAT'oRs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.. 35,146, dated May 6, 1862.

.To all whom it' may con'cern): A Be it known that I, JACQB EDSON, of Boston, the county of ASuo'lk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented'certain new and usefl'il-Improvements in Gas-Regulators; and I do hereby 4declare that the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specification of the same, wherein I have set forth .the nature' and principles of my said improvements by which my inven- -tion may bedistingu-ished from all others of a similar class, together withsuch 4parts as `I claim and desire to have secured to me `by Letters Patent.

Owing to the very unequal and constant variation of the degree of pressure of the gas usedfor illuminating purposes, it has long been very desirable'to provide an apparatus or arrangement of devices to be attached to the induction-pipe of buildings, &c.,by means of which the pressure of the gas couldbe regulated for adjustedto any desired degree, and

also continually maintained atthe same,7l the most important advantages arising .from

xgfhich would be the securingoi asteady and even iiame to the burners and the producing of a great economy in the consumption of the The present invention therefore has for, itsL object' the accomplishment of the Vabove-desired result; and -it'consists .in attaching to the induetion-pipe of buildings, dmc., a 'hollow globular or any other suitably-shaped receptacle or reservoir, in the interior of which and at or near its center -a,thin horizontal floating -disk is placed and secured at its edges, to.

the receptacle,` thus separatingr the same into two distinct chambers bymeansof leather or I any other suitable flexible material,l or by iioatin'g them in a groove filled with mercury, or by any other means that while preventing communication between the ltwo chambers will yet allow of the vibration or motion of thedisk'in a verticalfplane. To the under'v sideof this disk a hollow vertical valve-rod or diefcutoif is'secured, an`d,ze`xtending into and through the induction-aperture of the receptacle, isv so constructed and arranged that when operated in a vertical or up-and-down direction it will close or open the said aperv ture to the admission of gas to the receptacle.

Thus thegasentering `and filling the lower chamber of the receptacle, from which itA passes. tothe distributlig-pipes, serves as a medium for the disk to float or rest upon, and the disk, by oatinguponthe same, is therefore extremelysensitive to the least change .or variation in its pressure, and being susceptible of operation thereby-in a vertical directionV consequently and' instantly closes or opens the valve in direct ratio to theincreasc or decrease of the pressure, and, as is evident, will so regulate the admission of the gas to the receptacle as to constantly preserve its pressure at 'a uniform and equal degree.

To render the apparatusladapted to any and all degrees of pressure of the gas, I make the valve-rod vor vdie cutoif hollow, softhat by the insertion of small shot or other similar substances it may be increased or lessened in weight at pleasure and thus increase or decrease the amount of .pressure of the gas -necessary to operate the floating disk, as described.

-I have also made several other improve- Vments in the general arrangement and con` struction of my improved gas-regulator, which will be hereinafter described, and that are essential toits more perfect 'operation and adaptation to the purposes for which it is designed.

The iguresof the accompanying plate of drawings represent my improvements.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical .section of my ilnproved gas-regulator with the *induction-aperture opened. Fig. 2 is a similar section representing the Valve as closed. Figf is'a'detail View. to be hereinafter referred to.

fa a inthe accompanying drawings represent a ,hollow globular or any other suitablyshaped receptacle or reservoir, attached at b to the induction-pipe of buildings, df-c.

cis the eduetion-pipe of the saine and to which the distributing-pipe is secured.

AIn the interior of the receptacle a, and at or near its center, a thin 'horizontal 'Healing metallic disk, d, is placed' and secured to the same, dividing the receptaeleinto-twodistinctv and separate chanlbers, e and f, b v means of a leather sheet, g, or' by any other suitable exible material, or by floating. its edges in mercury, or in any other'proper way that wiil permit of avibrationbr' motion of the disk in a vertical plane, and also preventthe communication between the said chambers ef.'

Attached to the under side of the iioating disk (5I is a hollow vertical valve-rod jor die cutoft', 71, extending downward into .and through the induction-aperture t' of the receptacle (t. In-the outer periphery of the cutoff irradial .wings or projections j j, dac., Fig.

'3, are formed, that act as guides to steady the cut-off in its course, and f between which, through the openings k k, dsc., the gas from the induction-pipe passes to the lower chamber, f, of the receptacle, as represented by red arrows in the drawings, Fig.w l. l

The gas from the induction-pipe, passingas above described, enters andfills the lower chamber, f, of the receptacle, from which it is conveyed to the various distributing-pipes through the eduction-aperture Z. Upon this gaseous vapor in the chamber the disk d floats or rests, as it were, and is thus sensitive to the least variation or change of the pressure, be 'it either. greater or less, andconsequently rises or falls with the sa me,'and as the cut-off' h is attached theretol it also .is raised or lowered, and thereby closes or opens the aperture to the admission of gas to the receptacle, as the case may be, the air in the air-chamber c ofthe receptacle by its compression and expansion from thenpward and downward movement of the disk acting as an elastic cushion' upon the same, and thus imparting a more steady and even motion thereto.

Frein the above description'it willbe seen that a uniform and equal pressure of gas in the receptaeleis secured and maintained, as any change o'r variation in the same, be it ever so slight,im1nediately,so affects the aperture through which the gas passes to the receptacle as to always allow of the passage ofthe Asame amount or quantity of gas, notwithstanding the pressure to which itmay be subjeetedin the induction-pipe, as is apparent withoutfurther explanation.

A mis an adjustable screw-rod in the chamber e of the receptacle a by means of which the upward movement of the disk, dsc., can be regulated o r limited' 4atpleasure, and which, it is evident, should beiso adjusted with regard to the same as to always permit gas to pass bythe cutfott tothe receptacle and thus prevent it from actin g as a valve or being clogged by any substances, as would otherwise occur were the beariilg-surfaees allowed to come in contact.

'.lhe neat-ing disk or eut-off by not operating as a valve, it is apparent, avoids thenecessity-of overcoming the pressure against the lower end of the cut-off in its operation, so that in fact its periphery may-'evenbelarger than the diaphragm or disk to which it is attached above., andyet be equally sensitive.

It is evident from the above'deseription i hat to ad apt tho apparatus to various degrees of pressureit is only necessary that the cutolf should be increased or lessened in weight and thus increase or lessen the pressure of vgas requisite to operate the same, as described,

and for this purposethe die eut-off h is made hollow, as represented, in the cavity fn. of which small shot or other suitable material canbe. inserted, as may b'e desired, a screw or stopper, @preventing the falling out of the same.

p is a lspiral spring wound around a screwrod, q, and bearing upon the upper surface of thel floating disk. This spring by its arrangement can be so vadjustedthat a greater or less degree of pressure 'will be brought to bear upon the `disk,and thus correspondinglyretard its upward movement, should it be desired upon special occasions, after the apparatushas been once set at a given degree of pressure, to slightly increase 'or decrease the same.

vfr is agroove or gutter formed in the lower portion of the receptacle a., into which the coal- `tar, &c., condensed upon the sides thereof, fall and are then conducted or conveyed by the same to the outlet or opening s' of the eduction-pipe c, by theunscrewing of the stopper or screw# of which they can be easily removed, the many advantages of which in the voperation of the regulator are evident. Inl

order to shed or conduct from the floating disk the coal-tar, 85e., condensed upon the same in such a manner as to prevent their fallingupon and into the induction-aperture, the-edge 'of the disk or diaphragm is curved -or benty down, as represented, which will thus conduct or convey the lcoal-tar, (het, from the same directly to the gutter or groove fr, from which th y pe ss' and are removed, as described.

By arranging the die cut-off h in the induction-aperture of the receptacle in the manner described itwill be observedif the rod fm limiting the upward movement of the disk be raised sufficiently and the'pressure from the spiral spring upor. the same be removed, that the gas in operating the disk, 35e., will then by its pressure force or push the cut-o throughy the aperture and lthus cleanse or. 'scrape the same of all impurities or product-s that maybecolle'cted upon the surface thereof,

whereby, when desired, the apparatus is readily made to= cleanse itself, and by its own op- `eration---aj result never before accomplished in gas-regulatolrs.- l

Among the mar7 advantages arising from' the' arrangement c-f gas-regulators according tothe above-described improvements I may enumerate the following, viz: first, that as no two surfaces come directly or indirectly in contactwith each other theelogging or sticking of the apparatus. that has rendered gas-regulators as heretofore made worse than useless is entirely. obviated; second, that the air in 1 the air-chamber above the disk, operating as an elastic cushion upon the same, steadies'its mot-ion and prevents its'too sudden and quick op'eratomw'hichwould otherwise occur; third,

:diaphragm d and its simplic'ity, compactness of arrangement, and extreme sensitiveness of.' operation;

'.:fQur-th, its easy adjustment and regulation to anyor'all degrees of pressure, and, lastly,

cleaning itself,` or byits own'operation, as described.-

.-.Having thus 'described my improvements, what I 'claim as my invention, and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent, is 1.'lhe combinat'on of the floating disk or Valved rod p, with any suitablyshaped receptacle or 'jreservoir of the induction-pipe, for

`the purposes specified, and arranged therein and operating substantiallyas described,

2. Constructing the cut-off in a hollow shape,

by means of which it can be readily increased or lessened in 'weight at pleasure, for the purposes set forth. v

3. The adjustable rod m, or its equivalent for the purpose described.

4. In'so constructing'th'e die cut-off and a1' ranging it in the induction-aperture Vof th apparatus that Whenjpulled or forced u] through the same it will scrape or cu't off the co.e1 ltar, &c., deposited or collected upontheisurfaces.

JACOB EDSON. 

